Systems and methods for autonomous receptacle transportation

ABSTRACT

A system is disclosed for autonomously removing waste from a plurality of receptacles at separate locations within a service area. The system may include a service vehicle, and a plurality of transporters. The plurality of transporters may be configured to autonomously move the plurality of receptacles to the service vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/241,485 filed on Aug. 19, 2016, which is incorporated byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a system, method, andvehicle for autonomously removing waste from separate locations.

BACKGROUND

Residential waste service providers typically dispatch service vehiclesto customer properties according to a predetermined pickup scheduleassigned to each vehicle. For example, a particular service vehicle maybe dispatched to the same neighborhood every Monday to retrieve wastefrom every subscribing customer in the neighborhood. After the servicevehicle enters the neighborhood, the service vehicle may travel to eachseparate customer, where any waste receptacles that were previously setout by the customer are emptied into the vehicle. After the wastereceptacles are emptied at each customer property, the customer isresponsible for returning the waste receptacles to their originalcollection locations on the property. When all customer propertieswithin the neighborhood have been serviced, the vehicle may move toanother neighborhood to repeat a similar process.

Although the process described above may be acceptable for somesituations, it can also be problematic. For example, if the customerfails to set out their waste receptacles or sets them out on the wrongday or at the wrong time, service at that customer's property may not bepossible. As a result, the customer may miss the service opportunity.Similarly, the customer may delay returning the emptied wastereceptacles to their original collection locations, resulting in thereceptacles being set out for prolonged periods of time. In addition,setting out and returning the waste receptacles can be a hassle for thecustomer. Likewise, it can be inefficient and costly for the servicevehicle to travel to and stop at each customer property.

The disclosed method, system, and vehicle are directed to overcoming oneor more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of theprior art.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a system forautonomously removing waste from a plurality of receptacles at separatelocations within a service area. The system may include a servicevehicle, and a plurality of transporters. The plurality of transportersmay be configured to autonomously move the plurality of receptacles tothe service vehicle.

In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method ofautonomously removing waste from a plurality of receptacles. The methodmay include dispatching a service vehicle to a service area, andautonomously transporting the plurality of receptacles from separatelocations to the service vehicle at the service area. The method mayalso include emptying the plurality of receptacles into the servicevehicle, and autonomously returning the plurality of receptacles to theseparate locations.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a servicevehicle. The service vehicle may include a rolling chassis, and a bedsupported by the rolling chassis and configured to receive waste. Theservice vehicle may further include a controller in communication withthe rolling chassis and configured to autonomously operate the servicevehicle, and a plurality of transporters carried by the rolling chassis.The plurality of transporters may be selectively dispatched from theservice vehicle by the controller to retrieve receptacles from separatelocations in a service area of the service vehicle for emptying into thebed of the service vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustration of an exemplary disclosed wasteremoval system;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustration of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustration of another exemplary disclosed wasteremoval system;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustration of the system of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary service area 10, at which an exemplaryservice vehicle 12 has been dispatched to provide waste removalservices. Service area 10 may include a shopping plaza, a business park,a residential neighborhood, or another area having separate locations 14requiring the services of vehicle 12. One or more waste receptacles 16may be placed at each of locations 14 and, as will be described in moredetail below, periodically emptied into service vehicle 12.

Service vehicle 12 may take many different forms. For example, servicevehicle 12 is illustrated in FIG. 2 as a hydraulically actuated, front-and/or rear-loading type of vehicle. Specifically, service vehicle 12may include a bed 18 supported by a rolling chassis 20 (e.g., a frame,wheels, an engine, a transmission, driveshafts, suspension, steeringlinkages, etc.), and a lifting device 22 extending from bed 18 and/orrolling chassis 20. Lifting device 22 may consist of, among otherthings, one or more lift arms 24 configured to engage and/or graspreceptacle 16, and one or more actuators (not shown) powered, forexample by pressurized oil, to raise and tilt lift arms 24 (andreceptacle 16) to a dump location inside of bed 18. After dumping ofreceptacle 16, lift arms 24 may lower receptacle 16 back to the groundnear service vehicle 12 and release hold of receptacle 16.

In another example, lifting device 22 may be located to pick upreceptacles 16 from a side of service vehicle 12. In yet anotherexample, receptacles 16 may be lifted and dumped into bed 18 without theuse of a vehicle-mounted lifting device. In any of these examples, bed18 could be outfitted with a compactor (not shown) to compact the wastematerial after the material is dumped into bed 18, and/or a door (notshown) configured to close an opening of bed 18 through which the wastematerial is dumped. Other configurations may also be possible.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, vehicle 12 is at leastsemi-autonomous. For example, vehicle 12 may be autonomously and/orremotely driven to service area 10 by way of an onboard controller 28.Controller 28 may include computing means for monitoring inputs fromother components of vehicle 12 and for generating corresponding outputsignals (e.g., propulsion and steering command signals directed torolling chassis 20) based on the inputs. In some embodiments, controller28 may include a memory, a secondary storage device (not shown), a clock(not shown), a single or multiple microprocessors, and one or morecontrol modules for autonomously controller service vehicle 12. Numerouscommercially available microprocessors can be configured to perform thefunctions of controller 28. Various other known circuits may beassociated with controller 28, including signal-conditioning circuitry,communication circuitry, power circuitry, and other appropriatecircuitry. Controller 28 may be further communicatively coupled with anexternal computer system, instead of or in addition to including thecomputing means, as desired.

As vehicle 12 nears and/or reaches service area 10, controller 28 may befurther configured to broadcast (e.g., vie a wireless transmitter 30) aremote signal announcing the arrival of vehicle 12 to service area 10.This arrival signal may be received by a plurality of transporters 32,triggering transporters 32 to move receptacles 16 to service vehicle 12for emptying.

Transmitter 30 may include one or more hardware components configured tosend and receive signals (e.g., digital data messages) via one or morewired or wireless communication mechanisms, protocols, or standards forcommunicating with other entities. For example, transmitter 30 may beconfigured to communicate via short- or long-range wireless connections,such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, radio frequency identification (RFID),cellular, radio, satellite, or other wireless connections. Transmitter30 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate via wiredconnections, such as through a telephone, cable, Ethernet, or othercommunal or dedicated wired connection. In some embodiments, transmitter30 may be configured to communicate by one or more short-rangeconnections and one or more long-range connections in order tofacilitate convenient and/or efficient communications with a pluralityof different types of mobile or stationary devices.

In the example of FIGS. 1 and 2, each transporter 32 forms an integralportion of a corresponding waste receptacle 16. Specifically,transporter 32 may be located below a container 34 and configured tosupport and propel container 34. For example, transporter 32 may includeone or more traction devices (e.g., wheels and/or tracks) 36, a powersource (e.g., an electric motor and a battery) 38, an onboard processor40, and a wireless receiver 42. In response to the arrival signalgenerated by controller 28, broadcast by transmitter 30, and received byreceiver 42, processor 40 may be configured to plan a transportationroute from a current location of the associated container 34 to servicevehicle 12 and to execute the plan (e.g., by selectively commandingpower source 38 to drive and/or steer traction devices 36 in aparticular manner).

Processor 40, like controller 28, may include means for monitoring,recording, storing, indexing, processing, communicating, and/orcontrolling other transporter components. These means may include, forexample, a memory, one or more data storage devices, a centralprocessing unit, or any other components that may be used to run thedisclosed application.

As each waste receptacle 16 reaches service vehicle 12, container 34 maybe autonomously emptied. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, controller28 may be responsible for regulating the emptying of receptacles 16. Forexample, in response to a threshold condition being satisfied (e.g., asignal from processor 40 being received, a proximity of transporter 32being detected, a switch being tripped, etc.), controller 28 may commandthe actuator(s) associated with lifting device 22 to grasp, lift, and/ortilt waste receptacle 16 such that the contents thereof are dumped intobed 18. Thereafter, controller 28 may command the actuator(s) associatedwith lifting device 22 to return waste receptacle 16 to the ground, andthen signal processor 40 to autonomously drive waste receptacle 16 backto its original collection position at a corresponding customer'sproperty.

In an alternative embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, waste receptacle 16may be a conventional (e.g., non-mobile and/or non-autonomous)receptacle. In this embodiment, transporter 32 is a separate device thatis carried to service area 10 by vehicle 12. In particular, vehicle 12may be configured to simultaneously carry a plurality of transporters32. Upon reaching service area 10, instead of broadcasting an arrivalsignal, controller 28 may instead trigger offloading of transporters 32(e.g., via lifting device 22 or another similar mechanism). Processor 40of each transporter 32 may then be assigned to retrieve a particularreceptacle 16 (e.g., a receptacle having a particular indicia, barcode,rf tag, etc.) from a particular customer property. In some embodiments,processor 40 may need to rely on information from a locating device 44(e.g., a GPS device, a RADAR sensor, a LIDAR sensor, or another opticalmeans of navigation—shown only in FIG. 4) in order to navigate to theassigned property and/or a scanner or reader to identify the particularreceptacle 16. After retrieving the corresponding receptacle 16 andreturning to vehicle 12, processor 40 may then cause transporter 32 toload receptacle 16 into lift arms 24 for subsequent emptying. In oneembodiment, transporters 32 may themselves lift and/or tilt receptacles16 during emptying without the aid of a vehicle-mounted lift device. Inanother embodiment transporters 32 may merely position receptaclesrelative to vehicle 12, and then generate a signal indicative ofreadiness for lift arms 24 to grasp, lift, and tilt receptacles 16 intobed 18.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The disclosed system, method, and vehicle may provide for improved wasteservices. In particular, the disclosed system may provide for wasteremoval from separate customer properties without significant customerinteraction. For example, the customer may not need to set out and/orretrieve waste receptacles 16, as waste receptacles 16 may beautonomously moved to service vehicle 12, emptied, and returned. In thisway, the burden associated with waste removal may be lessened for thecustomer and the corresponding service may be more likely to becompleted in a desired manner. In addition, an efficiency and cost ofthe waste remove process may be reduced, as vehicle 12 may not need totravel to and stop at each location and because of a reduced amount ofhuman interaction during receptacle collection and dumping.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the disclosed method,system, and vehicle. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilledin the art from consideration of the specification and practice of thedisclosed method, system, and vehicle. For example, it is contemplatedthat the customer may still set out receptacles 16 at a curbsidelocation in anticipation of servicing, even when receptacles 16 may beautonomously moved to vehicle 12. It is intended that the specificationand examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope beingindicated by the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for autonomous receptacletransportation, comprising: a non-transitory memory; one or moreprocessors coupled to the non-transitory memory and configured toexecute instructions to perform operations comprising: monitor locationdata associated with one or more service vehicles based on firstlocation signals from the one or more service vehicles; receive anarrival signal in response to arrival of a first autonomous servicevehicle of the one or more service vehicles at a first service area; andtransmit a message causing one or more receptacles to autonomouslynavigate to the first autonomous service vehicle, each of the one ormore receptacles comprising a transporter that forms an integral portionof the corresponding receptacle.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein afirst receptacle of the one or more receptacles includes lift arms andis configured to empty into the first autonomous service vehicle usingthe lift arms.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first receptacle isconfigured to empty without aid of a vehicle-mounted lift device of thefirst autonomous service vehicle.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein eachof the one or more receptacles is in remote communication with the firstautonomous service vehicle in response to arrival of the firstautonomous service vehicle.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the firstautonomous service vehicle further comprises: a rolling chassis; a bedsupported by the rolling chassis and configured to receive waste; and acontroller in communication with the rolling chassis and configured toautonomously operate the first autonomous service vehicle.
 6. The systemof claim 1, wherein the one or more receptacles are configured toautonomously return to respective receptacle return locations inresponse to emptying.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or morereceptacles each include optical navigation means.
 8. A method forautonomous receptacle transportation, comprising: monitoring locationdata associated with one or more service vehicles based on firstlocation signals from the one or more service vehicles; receiving anarrival signal in response to arrival of a first autonomous servicevehicle of the one or more service vehicles at a first service area; andtransmitting a message causing one or more receptacles to autonomouslynavigate to the first autonomous service vehicle, each of the one ormore receptacles comprising a transporter that forms an integral portionof the corresponding receptacle.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein afirst receptacle of the one or more receptacles includes lift arms andis configured to empty into the first autonomous service vehicle usingthe lift arms.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first receptacleis configured to empty without aid of a vehicle-mounted lift device ofthe first autonomous service vehicle.
 11. The method of claim 8, whereineach of the one or more receptacles is in remote communication with thefirst autonomous service vehicle in response to arrival of the firstautonomous service vehicle.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the firstautonomous service vehicle further comprises: a rolling chassis; a bedsupported by the rolling chassis and configured to receive waste; and acontroller in communication with the rolling chassis and configured toautonomously operate the first autonomous service vehicle.
 13. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the one or more receptacles are configured toautonomously return to respective receptacle return locations inresponse to emptying.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or morereceptacles each include optical navigation means.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium including computer-executable programminginstructions for performing a method for autonomous receptacletransportation, the method comprising: monitoring location dataassociated with one or more service vehicles based on first locationsignals from the one or more service vehicles; receiving an arrivalsignal in response to arrival of a first autonomous service vehicle ofthe one or more service vehicles at a first service area; andtransmitting a message causing one or more receptacles to autonomouslynavigate to the first autonomous service vehicle, each of the one ormore receptacles comprising a transporter that forms an integral portionof the corresponding receptacle.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein a first receptacle of theone or more receptacles includes lift arms and is configured to emptyinto the first autonomous service vehicle using the lift arms.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the firstreceptacle is configured to empty without aid of a vehicle-mounted liftdevice of the first autonomous service vehicle.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or morereceptacles are configured to autonomously return to respectivereceptacle return locations in response to emptying.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one ormore receptacles each include optical navigation means.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the firstautonomous service vehicle further comprises: a rolling chassis; a bedsupported by the rolling chassis and configured to receive waste; and acontroller in communication with the rolling chassis and configured toautonomously operate the first autonomous service vehicle.